Tag: News

It is a true honor to be the 2017 elect student trustee. My motivation to run for student trustee was my desire of wanting to make a difference. Therefore my campaign was focused on the change we all want to see. As a student and employee of Morton College, I’ve learned to see that there is always room for improvement.

During my term, I would like to improve communication between staff, faculty, and students. As first generation college student, I’ve learned that communication is key for success. Improving communication will be a challenging project to work on, but I know that it is possible and definitely worth it.

I am also looking forward to increasing the exposure of Morton College. With that being said, I’d like to work on creating and increasing community activities. Exposing the college will bring many great changes and increase student involvement with more enjoyable experiences.

Another direct goal I have is to increase the opportunities for students who do not qualify for financial aid. A lot of students in our community do not have enough resources to pursue their education and as a student trustee, I will love to find ways to help open more doors.

Although there are many things I will like to do as a student trustee, these are my main goals. I am aware that I represent the student body and I will like to encourage every student to send me their ideas/needs to Estefani.hernandez@Morton.edu. I will try to work on everything I can to make our student experience the best.

On Friday, March 10th, Morton College released a letter of announcement concerning the college’s accreditation status. The letter entitled “Morton College Earns Reaffirmation of Regional Accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)” stated the next reaffirmation of accreditation to be in the 2026-2027 academic year. This statement was created by the college’s administration from the official letter delivered to President Stanley Fields on March 2nd.

The official letter was released in the HLC website. The letter states that before the next reaffirmation takes place, the college has been placed under “Action with Interim Monitoring”. While the HLC maintains the accreditation of Morton College, a focused visit is required to determine improvement in the following areas:

“extent of Board engagement with policy development; professional development plan for the president; participatory governance; and a comprehensive internal communication plan. Additional focus on financial accountability responsibilities”.

Morton College had previously been placed “on notice” by HLC in 2005 and again in 2012 but both sanctions were removed in 2006 and 2014 respectively. The College’s faculty were concerned that during the college’s last comprehensive evaluation visit in October 17, 2016, the outcome would be similar. Although this was not the case, the final report did conclude that HLC has:

“serious concerns with the Board of Trustees at Morton College. Specifically, how the board perceives its role in governing the college. It appears to the team that these issues still exist and are having a negative effect on the overall operations of the college. The board and faculty must come to a mutually understanding of the meaning of shared governance. The board is aware of their responsibility to address these concerns and is taking measures to address the issues.”

The College will face a focus visit sometime before January 31st, 2018, most likely this fall. The Higher Learning Commission will at that visit determine if Morton College has met the stated requirements.

A previous version of this article contained the error that Morton College had been place On Notice. That error has been corrected in this updated version.

Beginning the fall semester, tuition will increase by $7 dollars per credit hour.

This change will result in an increase between $84-$112 for full-time students who attend 12-16 credit hours per semester. Similarly, part-time students taking 6-11 credit hours per semester, should expect an increasing between $42-$77.

On March 27, 2017 President Stan Fields issued a statement to inform students of this upcoming change. The e-mail stated:

“This change is designed to ensure that Morton College is able to offer our college community access to the very best resources including skilled faculty and staff, enhanced campus facilities, and course programming that supports your success.”

The statement briefly mentioned the new Dual Enrollment Program, which is a partnership with J. Sterling Morton High School District 201. The new program will give high school students an opportunity to enroll in courses eligible for college credit at their school.

President Fields encourages students to contact the Business Office or the Provost to inquire about the program and ask questions regarding tuition increase. Morton College’s current Provost is Keith McLaughlin and can be contacted at Keith.McLaughlin@morton.edu or 708-656-800 ext. 2277. Mireya Perez is the director of business and can be reached at mireya.perez@morton.edu or 708-656-8000 ext. 2289.

On March 8th, prestigious speakers and nearly 400 men and women assembled outside the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago. They spoke about the importance of women within the workplace and the economy while celebrating International Working Women’s Day.

Workplace inequality between male and females has long been an issue in the world and in the United States. In 2015, full-time American workers who were female only earned 80% of what American men earned, measuring up to be a wage gap of 20% between the two sexes.

Prestigious speakers, from organizers, editors, and activists of differing organizations supporting women’s rights, equality for all, and a global minimum wage, came out to speak in support of International Working Women’s Day.

Zerlina Smith, 29th Ward and Action Now activist, was the most prominent speaker at the event. She spoke about the importance of their battle for the future, as her young daughter and another girl, sat at her feet.

“Because we need our legislators to actually write some real policies that will not just affect us now, but will affect these little ladies later on in life.”

Men and women, bracing the windy conditions, spoke out positively about women in the workplace and their importance to the United States economy.They also gave reasons on how equality in the workplace can be achieved. Some suggested that equality can be achieved through changing people’s attitudes, others noted that legislation that support women needs to be promoted and passed, and others suggested simply fighting for it.

Juan-Carlos Parker, a former Morton West graduate who was at the rally supported this final point of view. “When you’re asking for a seat at the table, the people already at the table aren’t usually happy about it.”

Morton College students support women’s equality, in and out of the workplace. Women and men all voiced their support for women, but all acknowledged the long fight ahead for them. A Morton College student, wishing to remain anonymous, said, “I will most likely not see the end of the fight for women’s equality in and out of the workplace.”

But Morton College students also stressed the importance of being one. Eunice Bonilla said she found it encouraging to see men and women, “Band together toward the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.”

The fight for women’s rights, in the workplace and out, will continue to be fought over in the next coming years. And their determination is not lost out to the people, as the 400 men and women ended their protest outside James R. Thompson Center by shouting, “Stand up and fight!” as passing bystanders looked on in curiosity, and some clapped in support.

It has been less than a month that President Donald J. Trump has taken office, and in such brief time it seems as if all havoc has been unleashed. The president has signed eight executive orders thus far, which include to repeal the Affordable Care Act and the immediate construction of a physical wall between Mexico and the United States. Many fear the power of these executive orders, as the United States proceeded to cease pass to individuals from seven Muslim countries a week and a half ago. In this case, the entire world has witnessed firsthand the immediate consequence generated from this executive order. What is to say about the executive orders before and proceeding it?

However, in response, the American public has not sat by the sidelines, in turn they have demonstrated its discontent with protests all over the nation in major cities ranging from New York City to Los Angeles.

The National General Strike that is to take place February 17th through the 20th is yet another step to contribute to impede this reign of terror. Strike organizers encourage participants to refrain from going to work, school, and to refrain from shopping. Although the call to action is to partake in a crippling action that will affect the economy to attract attention to the malfunctioning political system in place, the complications are deeply embedded into considerably more than just the political system. There are components of racism, ignorance, misinformation, lack of accountability and fact checking, among an array of others.

What remains is the crucial question, is it enough to simply stay home from daily obligations and responsibilities?

As the strike quickly approaches, participants should take this opportunity to vocalize all concerns about the political and social tribulations that are currently being undergone. Participants can contact Congressman Daniel Lipinski serving the 3rd district of the state, Congressman Luis Gutierrez serving the 4th district of the state, and finally, Congressman Danny K. Davis serving the 7th district of the state via letter or email. Partakers can also contact their state representatives Lisa Hernandez or LaShawn K. Ford, and senator Martin A. Sandoval in the same manner.

Another alternative in which participants can approach the National General Strike is to combat ignorance and prejudices with phenomenal enlightening reading material:

In a time when there is significant strain, torment, deception, fear, discomfort, and constant anxiety of the days to come, the people of this diverse nation must unify as one. Action is required to keep from the complete derailment of decades of progression. We must prove that the individuals that fought vigorously and relentlessly before us did not sacrifice themselves in vain.

These are the individuals that were voted into office to represent and serve the people; now it is time for the people to raise their voice.

Monday, February 20th will mark one month since the presidential inauguration. Many opposed to the President’s ideals have taken to the streets, airports and Washington D.C. in protest to demonstrate their disagreement with new policies and executive orders.
In attempt to reach more people, The National General Strike Association is organizing a strike inviting citizens across the U.S. to disrupt the economy by refraining from, as their slogan states:

“No Work. No School. No Shopping.”

Their Facebook page alludes a demand of reconstitution by cooperative action from all citizens. The strike will commence Friday, February 17th through Presidents Day on Monday, February 20th.

I’m happy to announce, as the Faculty Advisor to the Morton Collegian, the launch of this website, which has been a semester-in-the-making. Creating it has been a labor of love. Now Morton College has its own 100% student-run online journal.

Writing for a student paper can be a lot of fun. At the Collegian, it will be an experience in contemporary media. I encourage all students interested in joining our staff to please contact the editor-in-chief. Likewise, I encourage students who simply want to function as occasional contributors to contact the editor.

What are we looking for? The mission of the Morton Collegian is to give students a voice. We are interested in your concerns, tastes, observations, interests, opinions and experiences. As we grow and expand, we hope to review books and film, music and art, as we also profile students, faculty and staff. We are also interested in articles about alumni, or personal essays written by alumni of the college.

When you read articles you like or the kind that give a voice to your concerns, we hope you will share them with your friends on social media. We also hope that you add the Collegian to your online reading lists. It will be the place to turn when you want Morton news.